2026-09-10 13:11:39
Anonymous:
Outcome 53: define three finite horde-scale build experiences and adverse R25 check
hold the flood/hordes and builds.md ..
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Hold The Horde should repeatedly move between curiosity, rising crowd pressure, a spectacular build payoff and a short breath in which the player can understand what they reached. Ordinary weapons fire mostly automatically. The player's combat decisions are movement, route, proximity, which automatic effects to connect, and when to trigger a manual special.
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The following is a proposed experience. **The target is a survivorslike spectacle: a developed build changes most of the visible horde.** Counts and effects are untested. Storm Choir and Ricochet Foundry still need rules supporting their largest payoffs; Gravity Furnace adds two proposed temporary transformations using existing parts.
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The following is a proposed experience. **The target is a survivorslike spectacle: against a developed 80–150-body horde, sustained automatic fire and one earned climax visibly break a substantial part of the formation without erasing movement or the remaining threat.** Counts and effects are untested. Storm Choir, Ricochet Foundry and Gravity Furnace use finite coverage rules and temporary transformations made only from the existing twelve parts.
Ordinary exploration crosses substantial **local hordes** already occupying or moving through connected station spaces. The player can also deliberately wake machinery that draws a much larger surge and reveals new space; other disturbances can wake adjacent crowds. A **temporary overclock** changes the behaviour of installed equipment for the current expedition. It can turn a useful automatic shot into something the player wants to build a whole trip around.
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The machinery wakes the concourse. About forty shambling patients spill from two wards across the central lane. A dozen faster creatures descend marked maintenance stairs in flanking groups; more silhouettes press behind ward glass. The player's later-game **Storm Choir** has automatic Projector fire, impact-powered arcs and a charge store, but begins this trip without its temporary transformations. Its short electrical chains help without dominating the space.
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At the first junction the crowd thickens. The player stays near the packed centre so each arc finds another body, then cuts aside when the fast group arrives. The ward release is finite and visibly runs out. Clearing its committed crowd earns a choice under the proposed stage reward rule. In the paused journal the player chooses **Echoing Arc**: each Arc discharge can extend to two additional nearby targets, at a heat cost. It resumes the same danger when the journal closes.
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At the first junction the crowd thickens. The player stays near the packed centre so each arc can continue through adjacent bodies, then cuts aside when the fast group arrives. The ward release is finite and visibly runs out. Clearing its committed crowd earns a choice under the proposed stage reward rule. In the paused journal the player chooses **Echoing Arc**: each accepted Arc action gains two further finite branch routes at a heat cost. It resumes the same danger when the journal closes.
At the next junction, the carriage trips a second marked ward release. Resolving it offers **Thunderhead**, adding a manual full-store burst to the same rig. Ordinary Projector impacts charge the store. Each Arc discharge spends its supplied charge; the extra jumps add heat. These two releases prepare the build for the final optional scan. At either junction the player can stop the carriage and leave by the walking route.
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The final ward doors open ahead. Roughly one hundred enemies fill the concourse, with more flowing from announced sources. A tide closes from behind while fast groups cross the carriage's path. The player risks the dense middle, finishes charging and presses Thunderhead. Stored charge discharges through Arc and Projector together, then charging resumes automatically. **The intended climax** is blue-white branching light across the packed lane: the crowd collapses and the carriage surges through. The player turns an impossible screen into a route. Storm Choir below identifies the coverage rules still needed for that scale.
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The final ward doors open ahead. Roughly one hundred enemies fill the concourse, with more flowing from announced sources. A tide closes from behind while fast groups cross the carriage's path. The player risks the dense middle, finishes charging and presses Thunderhead. Stored charge discharges through three chain heads and one penetrating pressure lance, then charging restores automatically. **The intended climax** is blue-white branching light breaking roughly forty well-packed ordinary bodies while the lance cuts a traversable slot. Survivors, flankers and resistant bodies still move. The carriage surges through because the player chose the dense line and the release moment, not because the special deleted the room.
An unready player sees the crest turn against them. Flankers draw arcs away from the tide, bodies stall the carriage, and a heavy creature narrows the exit while hits strip condition. The choice is legible: spend Thunderhead early and face the main mass empty; hold the centre long enough to charge, risking death; or abandon the scan and flee, spending oxygen and position. The walking route remains usable without an overclock. Death changes the next route, but everything physical still carried returns aboard. The horde has teeth without deleting the loadout.
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Permanent growth comes from reusable parts in station machinery and other placed discoveries. Carrying a find competes with oxygen, salvage and equipment. A new behaviour—fork, sense movement, shove, store, convert—changes several existing chains. [Finding Equipment and Growing the Rig](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Equipment%20Acquisition%20And%20Rig%20Growth) describes the proposed finds and expansion; finding versus fabricating the wider collection remains an owner choice.
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Temporary transformations create a survivorslike rise from “barely holds a lane” to “owns the room.” Echoing Arc adds targets, Rebound Disc makes architecture part of a shot, and Thunderhead turns storage into a climax. The chosen behaviour changes automatically. The pleasure should come from deciding what this expedition's machine will become, then seeing that decision reshape the next crowd.
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Temporary transformations create a survivorslike rise from “barely holds a lane” to “breaks the crest it prepared.” Echoing Arc grows finite chain routes, Rebound Disc makes architecture part of a shot, Inward Draft makes running shape the crowd, and the three final transformations turn stored charge into a climax. The chosen behaviour changes automatically. The pleasure should come from deciding what this expedition's machine will become, then seeing that decision reshape the next crowd.
**How often growth arrives is still an owner choice.** The current proposal used by the moving scan awards one choice for clearing a finite, announced release or sealing its access after it begins, including an early victory. Closing the source beforehand instead buys safety and access without an upgrade choice. The alternative is regular growth from defeated enemies with larger milestone transformations. Neither should reward delaying a harmless last enemy. [Build Rules](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Build%20Rules) explains temporary effects and growth choices; [Fighting the Horde](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Combat%20Rules) explains how a sourced horde is resolved.
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## Build one: Storm Choir
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**What it does.** Automatic Projector impacts feed electrical chains and bank charge. The player moves toward dense knots so an arc can reach neighbouring bodies, then manually discharges the full store when the crowd is fullest. Ordinary charging restores itself after the burst.
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**What it does.** Automatic Projector impacts feed electrical chains and bank charge. The player moves toward dense, mutually visible knots so each finite route can continue, then manually discharges the full store when the crowd is fullest. Ordinary charging restores itself after the burst.
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**Connection in plain language.** Threat Sensor starts Pulse Projector. Physical impacts supply Impact Dynamo; Fork Relay divides its charge between Arc Emitter and Capacitor. Echoing Arc adds two target jumps. Thunderhead switches the full store through Fork to Arc and Projector for one manual burst. These six parts use seven carrying and mounted spaces on a later rig; one normal oxygen canister leaves one of the proposed ten carrying spaces for salvage.
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**Connection in plain language.** Threat Sensor starts Pulse Projector. Physical impacts supply Impact Dynamo; Fork Relay divides its charge between Arc Emitter and Capacitor. Echoing Arc adds two branch routes. Thunderhead switches the full store through Fork to Arc and Projector for one manual burst. These six parts use seven carrying and mounted spaces on a later rig; one normal oxygen canister leaves one of the proposed ten carrying spaces for salvage.
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**Early payoff.** Short chains reward packed lanes. **Developed payoff target.** Coloured branches race across most of the visible horde; a manual storm opens the lane in one magnificent release. This needs further reach and branching rules: the base chain's target count is unspecified, and two extra jumps do not establish screen-wide coverage. Arcs spend supplied energy; burst descendants cannot recharge themselves.
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**Ordered transformation.** The base chain first rewards a compact lane. Echoing Arc then turns one chain into three finite routes. Thunderhead finally spends a full store on three chain heads plus one pressure lance, enough to break roughly forty well-aligned ordinary bodies while leaving the rest of a large horde active. The exact hop, cover, heat, supply and coverage contract lives in [Mechanical Interfaces](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Mechanical%20Interfaces%20And%20Opening%20Quantities). No step assumes an XP threshold, pickup frequency or particular reward cadence.
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**Weakness and choice.** Insulated or widely scattered enemies break the chain. Storage and Arc consume space that could support defence, oxygen or single-target force, and the burst adds a high heat pulse. This particular rig has no Barrier. The exciting risk is stepping closer to the densest group because that is where the machine should become magnificent.
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**Weakness, choice and bad feel.** Insulated bodies, hard cover or wide spacing stop routes. Storage and Arc consume space that could support defence, oxygen or focused force, and the burst adds a high heat pulse. This rig has no Barrier. The player chooses whether to cross toward a dense connected knot or spend early on a weaker line. It may feel bad when one insulated body at the front consumes the spectacular setup and the remaining branches cannot reach the crowd the player thought they had framed; the preview must expose that break before commitment.
## Build two: Ricochet Foundry
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**What it does.** With Rebound Disc, the rig automatically launches a glowing disc that can rebound twice. Fragment Wake can turn its final rebound into one terminating burst of fragments. The player runs corridor angles and uses a manual shove to move eligible bodies or loose cover into the shot's path.
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**What it does.** Rebound Disc automatically launches a glowing physical disc on a committed direction. Fragment Wake turns its normal terminal end into one forward fragment fan. Successive finite flights overlap between hard surfaces while the player runs for new angles and manually shoves eligible bodies or loose cover into the next path.
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**Connection in plain language.** Threat Sensor starts Pulse Projector. Its physical impacts supply Impact Dynamo, which charges Capacitor. Manual Trigger operates Vector Nozzle for the shove. Rebound Disc and Fragment Wake change the Projector temporarily. These six parts use seven carrying and seven mounted spaces. Nozzle moves bodies and loose objects; steering a disc is not part of its current behaviour. Each original shot gives Dynamo at most one contribution, however many of its rebounds or fragments hit.
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**Connection in plain language.** Threat Sensor starts Pulse Projector. Its first eligible physical impact supplies Impact Dynamo, which charges Capacitor. Manual Trigger operates Vector Nozzle for the shove. Rebound Disc, Fragment Wake and Foundry Drop change Projector temporarily. These six parts use seven carrying and seven mounted spaces. Nozzle moves bodies and loose objects; it never steers a disc. Each original launch gives Dynamo at most one contribution, however many descendants hit.
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**Early payoff.** A disc banks through a line and strikes again from another angle. **Developed payoff target.** Several independent shots overlap between the walls, finishing in bright fragment fans until the room resembles a luminous pinball table. Rebounds end after their finite allowance; successive ordinary shots build the pattern. Fire rate, flight duration, fragment spread and target damage still need to support that dense result within the rig's power and heat limits.
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**Ordered transformation.** The base ordinary shot and manual shove first hold one corridor. Rebound Disc then rewards one readable bank. Fragment Wake adds a terminating fan and makes each accepted automatic shot threaten a broad corridor. Foundry Drop finally turns a full store into one manual master disc with a longer but finite path and larger fan, capable of breaking roughly half of a tightly framed 80–100-body crest. Its flight never homes, and the automatic launch mode restores after dispatch. Exact travel, rebound, body, fragment, supply and heat limits are in [Mechanical Interfaces](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Mechanical%20Interfaces%20And%20Opening%20Quantities). The ordering does not select how often offers appear.
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**Weakness and choice.** Open atriums, soft partitions and enemies that absorb projectiles deny useful rebounds. The shove can arrange existing loose cover, but bringing its parts spends the space Storm Choir uses for Fork and Arc. This rig also lacks a Barrier. Its pleasure comes from reading architecture at running speed and watching a modest bank shot grow into controlled chaos.
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**Weakness, choice and bad feel.** Open atriums, soft partitions and absorbing enemies deny useful rebounds. Bringing Manual and Nozzle spends the space Storm Choir uses for Fork and Arc; this rig also lacks a Barrier. The player chooses a running angle and whether to spend Nozzle now to improve a later disc or save it for escape. It may feel bad when the disc meets an absorber before its terminal wall and produces no fragment fan; the path preview and absorber response must make that risk legible rather than look like missing effects.
## Build three: Gravity Furnace
**What it should do.** The astronaut gathers a dangerous wake of enemies while running, then burns through the compressed mass with a chosen thermal burst. Its pleasure is the moment pursuit becomes ammunition for the player's plan: keep the knot together for a spectacular release, or fire early to escape it.
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**Proposed connection.** Stride Switch starts Vector Nozzle. A new temporary **Inward Draft** effect would turn its pushes into short pulls toward the astronaut. Threat Sensor separately starts Pulse Projector; physical impacts feed Impact Dynamo and fill Capacitor. A second temporary effect, **Furnace Burst**, would switch the full store through Thermal Lens to Projector for one heat-bearing shot with a terminating thermal bloom, then restore charging automatically. Charge becomes heat at release; heat and burst impacts cannot refill the store.
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**Proposed connection.** Stride Switch starts Vector Nozzle. Temporary **Inward Draft** reverses its deliberate-stride pulse into a short pull behind the astronaut. Threat Sensor separately starts Pulse Projector; physical impacts feed Impact Dynamo and fill Capacitor. **Furnace Burst** spends the full store through Thermal Lens and Projector on one heat lance with a terminating bloom, then restores charging automatically. Charge becomes heat at release; pulls, heat and burst descendants cannot refill the store.
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These seven existing parts use **eight carrying and mounted spaces**. One normal oxygen canister fills the ten-space manifest; there is no Barrier or free salvage space. Pull reach, thermal bloom and crowd-scale behaviour need new rules for these proposed temporary effects.
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These seven existing parts use **eight carrying and mounted spaces**. One normal oxygen canister fills the ten-space manifest; there is no Barrier or free salvage space.
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**Early payoff target.** Pull pulses bunch a pack for one hot shot. **Developed payoff target.** Dozens fold into a bright wake as the astronaut threads between obstacles; the final bloom tears through the mass and opens a broad escape lane. Each pull needs a fresh voluntary stride, power and cooling. Its opposite reaction draws the astronaut toward the crowd; forced motion cannot trigger more strides. A burst spends the full store, adds heat and restores ordinary firing without a journal edit.
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**Ordered transformation.** The base rig first combines automatic pressure shots with deliberate outward movement pulses. Inward Draft then lets fresh voluntary strides gather a dangerous wake behind the astronaut. Furnace Burst finally turns the full store into one forward lance and bloom, breaking roughly half of a well-gathered 80–100-body crest. Each pull needs a fresh voluntary stride, power and cooling; forced motion cannot trigger another. A burst spends the full store and restores ordinary firing without a journal edit. Exact pull, reaction, lance, bloom, cover, supply and heat rules are in [Mechanical Interfaces](/Hold%20The%20Flood/Mechanical%20Interfaces%20And%20Opening%20Quantities).
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**Weakness and choice.** Heavy enemies resist displacement; ranged attackers remain dangerous. Pulling and charging compete for power and cooling. Releasing early is safer but smaller; holding for spectacle brings the tail closer and risks condition, oxygen and the objective. Taking a find means sacrificing oxygen or breaking this packed arrangement. Exact force, recoil, bloom size and damage remain design work.
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**Weakness, choice and bad feel.** Heavy enemies resist displacement, hard cover divides the pull and bloom, and ranged attackers remain dangerous. Pulling and charging compete for power and cooling. Releasing early is safer but smaller; holding for spectacle brings the tail closer and risks condition, oxygen and the objective. It may feel bad when the crowd visibly gathers but a fixed rib blocks most of the bloom; the impact marker must show which bodies have sight to it before the player spends the store.
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## Crowded adverse example: R25 Balance Gallery
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Use the already-authored R25 setpiece as a hostile paper check: its 80–150-body crest enters around the fixed rib, loose mass and Bellback. This changes no room, arena, route or asset. Storm Choir can break the near-side pack only if the player crosses far enough that its chain hops retain line of effect; the rib and Bellback can strand branches. Ricochet Foundry can bank from the rib and use Nozzle to move eligible loose mass, but Bellback can absorb the master disc before its fan. Gravity Furnace can pull ordinary bodies around the loose mass, yet the rib splits the bloom and Bellback stays in the escape line.
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The meaningful decision is different in each case: cross into chain range or fire a smaller storm; spend the shove on geometry or preserve it for escape; keep gathering a wake or bloom early on the safe side. Heat may make any climax refuse until a named component cools, and already flying transformed shots still reserve supply. No journal rewiring is required at the crest: the player moves, aims the inspected physical path and presses at most the labelled manual command. If the setup fails after acceptance because a body or cover moved, the spent charge is a visible committed miss, not silently refunded.
